Descanso Gardens sets a plan for a greener future
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If you’re a regular at Descanso Gardens, it’s likely you’ve noticed there’s a lot less lawn at the entrance lately. Instead, there’s eastern redbud, sycamore, native shrubs and other species.
That change is expected to save 600,000 gallons of water from the more than 3 million gallons used for irrigation each year at the La Canada Flintridge gardens, said the gardens’ executive director David Brown.
And, that step is just one of many that Descanso expects to take to make the gardens a “water-wise, fire-smart oasis of beauty.”
Several years of work went into a plan to guide the gardens into the future and to make them a model for the rest of us. Read more about Descano’s plans. Or, take a look at how the gardens look today, and take a look at the possible future gardens.
Like many public gardens around the country, Descanso aims to be environmentally responsible. That could mean many changes in what’s planted where, how gardens are irrigated and what happens to wastes.
One change could bring a tear to some fans’ eyes, even if they support it. Many of the camellias will be relocated because the water they require year-round turns out to be harmful to the live oaks nearby. The trees thrive in Southern California’s dry climate.
-- Mary MacVean
Related: Our Dry Garden columnist Emily Green described the changes coming to Descanso Gardens as ‘beyond refreshing, more like happy dance exciting.’
